


Sashay Away

by Succulint



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Alcohol, Drag Queen Kanji, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 23:39:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17171654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succulint/pseuds/Succulint
Summary: All Kanji really wants is to live his life free from the assholes of society, but of course, its hard to work as a performer in a bar and not have to deal with such a thing. When he notices something unpleasant during his first solo performance he realizes he's really the only one who can do anything about it.Written for the Persona Secret Santa 2018





	Sashay Away

If you asked Kanji in high school where he thought he would end up in the next ten years, he would say likely tell you anywhere but what eventually came to be reality. It really is quite ironic that what was likely the most embarrassing moment of his teenage years ended up being the main centerpiece of his adult life. If anything, his actions with his friends as the investigation team should have been the thing that affected him the most but that never did end up being the case. During school, being seen as feminine was his worst nightmare, but as he grew up he realized that it didn’t really matter. And nowadays, he is paid top dollar to look as much like a woman as he possibly can, go figure.

“You almost ready?”

The sound of the curtain opening would at one point have been enough to cause him to flinch and completely ruin his eyeliner; but now he is so used to it that even in the middle of application nothing is smudged. He can’t help but be proud of himself for this accomplishment. “Yep.”

He doesn’t turn around to make sure that he is understood, but the thumbs up he sees in the mirror is enough to affirm the answer. Kanji quickly but efficiently finishes his makeup, giving himself enough time to put on his actual outfit. When he had first started up, he had tried his best to cover up all of the muscle that he has still refused to give up, but after a small wardrobe malfunction a few shows ago, he realized that there are a lot of people that enjoy it. Now, he isn’t nearly as uncomfortable as he once was with wearing tight outfits, in fact, now he almost prefers it.

Kanji runs his hands over his hips covered in shimmery fabric and exhales, trying to get over his nerves. Over his time working here, he really has only done group performances alongside his other coworkers, or he would be in front of only a very small group of people. This time however, he is on center stage, the main attraction of the building if only for a few minutes, he can’t help but be nervous.

The moment he’s called onto the stage however, and he hears the cheers of the people in the bar, he forgets about all of his anxieties. Once he finally steps on stage, he gets a strong sense of Deja Vu, and suddenly he is back in high school again, back at on that stage during the culture show. Except this time, he is wanted here, and accepted as who is he, and he doesn’t think he would trade the feeling away for anything. As he has never truly been on a stage alone like this before, all Kanji really does is a lip sync performance, but really, no one in the audience minds if that’s all he does. He has practiced this show for weeks on end, wanting to impress at least one person that matters.

It’s about halfway through the song that he sees it from across the room. He slowly peels off the jacket he had been wearing to expose the dress underneath, throwing the fabric off to the side of the stage. After it completely passes across his vision, his eyes lock onto a scene going on at the bar that no one else seems to be paying attention to. He can’t possibly notice all of the details because of all the lights in his eyes, but he can see enough that he can tell that the situation is not a very good one.

All he can tell is that an obviously drunk man is trying to get the attention of someone else sitting down on another bar stool. Even from here Kanji can see that their body language just screams ‘uncomfortable’. The man continues to try and grab onto them even when they push his hand away, and Kanji can’t help but be concerned that it might escalate if someone doesn’t do anything. He curses himself as he messes up one of the major lines in the chorus, hoping that most people in the audience are too drunk to notice it. 

The song can’t end fast enough, and as soon as it does, he doesn’t even bother changing. He picks up his jacket from the stage and puts it back on over himself, walking as fast as he can in his heels down to the main floor. Luckily enough, the next act starts before he gets down there, so most people in the bar pay no attention to him, even though they had just been very loudly cheering for him. He finds his way around all of the people, hoping that he isn’t too late, only to see the same scene that he had just witnessed from up on stage only minutes ago. The guy must really be persistent if he thinks that he can get them to talk to him now.

Kanji places a hand roughly down on the man’s shoulder, causing him to stop talking and turn on him aggressively. “The hell do you want?”

He can’t tell if the man’s ability to remain calm even when being intimidated is due to his level of intoxication, or the fact that said person in front of him is currently in heavy makeup and a tight white dress. Either way, Kanji realizes that this will not go nearly as well, or as quickly as he had hoped. “I think you need to back off.” The person that was previously being harassed turns around in their seat and looks up at him, as if surprised that someone is bothering to actually try and help them.

The man grits his teeth, glaring at him aggressively, “Well I think you should mind your own fucking business.” With each word, he leans in closer, enough that Kanji can now fully smell the alcohol on his breath. He wrinkles his nose in disgust as it’s for this very reason, among several others, that he doesn’t drink himself.

“Look man,” Kanji crosses his arms in front of his chest. “If you don’t leave them alone then I’m gonna have to call security.”

This, unsurprisingly, only makes him angrier. “Since when can you tell me what to do huh?! I don’t have to listen to some low life crossdresser.”

“My occupation has nothing to do with the fact that you’re making someone uncomfortable.” Kanji is long past the point where anyone could make him feel ashamed of what he decides to do in his spare time, even if that someone is himself. “Now either you walk away, or you get escorted out of the building, take your pick.”

The instincts gained from years of being a ‘delinquent,’ plus that one year of defending against shadows every so often never really left it seems, because he sees the punch coming before it’s even thrown.

The person from the bar minding their own business had never left it seems, made frank by the gasp erupting from Kanji’s left. He tries not to let this distract him however, not that he can really afford to now that the drunk man has begun to get violent. Kanji attempts to reason with him again, only to be interrupted by another attempted punch. Obviously, the man expects him to be some sort of pushover who can’t defend himself and it irritates him immensely to know that this is only because he is a drag queen. Kanji suspects that it is this irritation that finally motivates him to push back. He hardly feels it when he punches the man right in the jaw, the only proof that it connected at all is the pained noise he lets out immediately afterwards.

This combined with his lack of coordination from being as drunk as he is causes him to fall backwards onto the ground. It obviously takes him a few seconds to process what just happened, but by then the performances on stage have finished, and people are beginning to take notice of what is happening. The man attempts to get up, likely to fight back even further, but security is on him before he even gets the chance. Kanji sighs in relief, someone must have finally noticed and decided to alert one of the staff about what was happening. Together, the two of them pick him up and have to practically drag the still yelling man out of the building. Kanji shakes off his hand and pulls off his jacket, finding it very hot in the room all of a sudden.

Before Kanji can make sure that the person he had been trying to keep safe is still fine, he is approached by one of his coworkers. She was in charge of reporting any incidents, such as the one that had just occurred, to their boss to make sure that the proper precautions against the offender are put into place. Someone else, possibly the same person who told security, had obviously gotten her attention. The man that had made the earlier scene is sure to be banned from the establishment until further notice. It is likely that he will find some other place to spend his time, but for now everyone in the building is safe. She makes sure to ask the person at the bar if they’re fine, to which they respond with a soft ‘Yes,’ and after a once over, Kanji is able to reassure himself that they will be okay. They seem to be a bit shaken up by the whole encounter, but he really can’t blame them.

Once his coworker goes into the back to find their manager, Kanji is surprised to see that the person he had helped has yet to move from their spot. In fact, they seem to be putting all their attention towards him. Without saying a word, they approach him, taking a shaky breath inward and looking to the side shyly, the faintest of red in their cheeks. “Thank you.” They give him a soft kiss on the cheek before Kanji can even think of how to respond, caught somewhere between ‘No problem’ and ‘I’m just glad you’re okay.’ Kanji feels himself panic as he struggles to finally try and get the words out, his face likely the reddest it has ever been, but before he can, they slip away into the crowd in the general direction of the front doors. They’re leaving obviously, and Kanji should do the same. He doesn’t think that anyone would blame him but at the same time…

“Oh well…” He sighs, he never did get to congratulate anyone on their performances did he?

**Author's Note:**

> I have never actually written anything for P4, so I hope that this was enjoyable enough! Happy holidays to everyone, especially the team who put this whole event together! (Yes the title is a Drag Race quote)


End file.
